"Plenty of Italian Doom bands draw their inspiration from horror movies; nonetheless, Bretus manage to stand out from the crowd with their vintage interpretations. After reviewing their latest offering, Nick was sufficiently impressed to seek out founder Ghenes for a more in-depth look at the band."

Interview with Bretus.

(1) Thanks for agreeing to be interviewed for Doom-Metal.com. Could we start with a formal introduction to our readers: who are you and where are you from?

Cheers Nick and thank you for supporting our band. We are around since 2000 and the band is: Zagarus on vocals, Striges on drums, me (Ghenes) on guitars and Azog on bass. We came from Catanzaro a small city in the south of Italy and we play DOOM)))

(2) Can you tell us a bit more about the history of the band and how you got together?

In the beginning there was another line up, but basically, except me and our first solo guitarist Neurot, the other members didn't care much about doom psychedelia and all this kind of stuff. The band was really born when I met Zagarus in 2008. We recorded a Demo in 2008, in 2009 the EP titled "Bretus" and our first 2012 album "In onirica" . In the year 2015 we recorded the first concept album entirely based on a Lovecraft's novel "The shadow over Innsmouth", one 7" split with Black Capricorn and last but not least our new album "...from the Twilight zone".

All of us listen to different kinds of music but we are all die-hard rockers. So we have many influences that converge in different measure inside the songs. Bretus is a combination of Hard Rock, Blues, English Psychedelia, some Folk rock and the heaviness of metal.

(4) Congratulations on your excellent new album, '…From the Twilight Zone'. Can you tell us about the concept of the album, and how you came to choose it?

Thank you very much. Our 2015 album, as I said, was a concept album, but this time we didn't want to repeat that formula. We just chose some of our favourite movies (and one novel) and decided to tribute these. The only rule about the choice has been not to have modern movies on it. Nothing wrong with these movies but we prefer vintage images.

Bretus - 'The Haunter Of The Dark' (Official):

(5) How did you decide which movies to base the songs on? I hope it didn't cause any arguments!

No, no, don't care. Very simple because we are movie maniacs ah aha ... It was only a question of personal tastes. It's been a very strange thing but we thought before on the movies and after we worked on songs.

(6) What kind of feedback have you had about the album so far? We love it here at Doom-metal.com.

Great feedbacks until now, some people probably don't like very much this kind of music, so some cannot enjoy, but we are really satisfied.

(7) The album artwork is eerie and beautiful; can you tell us more about it and why you chose it?

I saw this beautiful image on the internet, maybe a movie picture. Our first covers artist was Elaine Sgraffito from Ireland (she worked with many other psycho doom bands) but this time was not available to work with us, so I asked a friend of mine to paint the cover. Her name is Damiana Merante and we are proud to say that she is from Catanzaro like us all. The result is this beautiful piece of art that you have seen.

(8) Many Doom bands have created great music inspired by horror movies and literature, why do you think Doom and horror is such a good combination?

Doom and horror is the best combination ever for sure. Think about it for a moment. A slow heavy and suffering death rather than a speedy ultra gore death like modern zombies on tv ah aha... It fits perfectly.

(9) Would you consider writing material based on any other genre; fantasy or science fiction, for instance?

Personally for sure, I like different genres, but my bandmates could kill me. Maybe in the future ... who knows?

(10) Are there any lesser known horror movies you can recommend to our readers?

So many amazing movies around. The devil doll (1936) by Tod Browning is one of them.

(11) When you think about it, sitting down to watch a movie, read a book, or listen to an album you know will be scary or disturbing is quite a strange thing to do. Why do you think people like to be scared?

From the beginning mankind was very fascinated about the dark side of the moon, or about mysteries and the beyond, so it is a natural instinct that nobody can ignore.

(12) There are so many categories, sub-genres, and ways of interpreting metal, but what, to you, is the definition of Doom Metal.

More or less all that I said before . But eventually it's ever a question of points of view... Everyone can explain it in a different way.

(13) What made you want to be in a Doom band as opposed to some other sub-genre of metal?

Because Doom is a way of life. Not poseurism or rockstars lifestyle. It's a matter of passion. In my opinion this kind of music is a crossing between all the rock genres of the last 60 years.

(14) What was the first Doom album you ever bought?

With the exception of Black Sabbath's first masterpiece, Cathedral's Forest of Equilibrium.

(15) You've been together as a band since the turn of the century, how does the Doom scene of today compare to back in 2000?

Honestly when we started here in our country there was no one scene and still less audiences, But in these years the interest about doom is growing and many guys started to play with their bands.

(16) Perhaps it's a little bit early to ask, but do you have any ideas for the concept of the next album?

Not for sure, after this record we just think to enjoy our beautiful summer.

Bretus - 'In The Vault' (Live 2017):

(17) Are there any live dates coming up for Bretus?

In October we will play in Sardegna with Jucifer (USA) and other bands in a Festival called " Doom over Karalis" managed by our friend Fabrizio Monni from Black Capricorn.

(18) What interests do you have away from the band and the world of Doom Metal?

All of us play in other bands and have different jobs away from the music. Sometimes we have to work too!!!

(19) I hope we've given you the opportunity give Doom-metal.com readers an insight into the band, but is there anything else you'd like to add before we wrap up the interview?

We really hope to give you good vibrations. Keep it DOOM)))

(-) Please allow me to thank you for taking the time to speak to Doom-metal.com.

Thank you for your support and hope to talk to you soon. Respect. Ghenes